{"id":823086,"date":"2026-08-23T11:26:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/823086\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T11:26:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T11:26:20","slug":"pca-looks-like-an-mvp-plus-watson-booed-by-browns-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/823086\/","title":{"rendered":"PCA looks like an MVP, plus Watson booed by Browns fans."},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! Don\u2019t be intimidated by the greatest of all time today. Inside:<\/p>\n

Statistically Speaking: Has Ohtani finally met his MVP match?<\/p>\n

Shohei Ohtani\u2019s run of three straight MVPs is probably about to end at the hands of some guy who plays a mere one position and was carrying a .572 OPS three weeks into the season. If it happens,\u00a0Pete Crow-Armstrong will have earned it.<\/p>\n

The Cubs center fielder is now likelier than not to win the award Ohtani won going away in 2024 and 2025. (Ohtani also won the AL MVP in 2023, his last year with the Angels.) Crow-Armstrong is the public\u2019s favorite (per BetMGM<\/a>), with an implied chance north of 60 percent.<\/p>\n

The numbers say PCA has indeed been the most valuable.\u00a0The 24-year-old has been worth 8.3 WAR so far, per FanGraphs. That almost doubles up any other NL hitter and is well clear of Ohtani, who\u2019s derived 4 WAR as a hitter and another 3 as a pitcher. PCA has dramatically improved both his walk rate and his performance against lefties. Mix those things with his superb defense, power and base-running, and you get a season for the ages.<\/p>\n

Ohtani is not slouching.\u00a0At the plate, he has gone from superhuman to, well, still superhuman but slightly less so this season (a 152 wRC+ entering the weekend, compared to 172 last year). On the mound, he\u2019s been dominant, but in just 85 innings.<\/p>\n

In many years, that would get Ohtani the MVP.\u00a0It\u2019s just that PCA is covering\u00a0so\u00a0many bases, literally and figuratively.\u00a0Do you like traditional benchmarks? Neat; PCA\u00a0reached the 30\/30 mark<\/a>\u00a0last week. Do you like detailed defensive stats? Very good; he\u2019s converted 23 outs above average so far, giving him a decent shot at\u00a0the most productive defensive season<\/a>\u00a0since at least 2016. Do you yearn for the\u00a0clutch gene? Crow-Armstrong has been even better in big moments, with one of the best lines in baseball in\u00a0high-leverage plate appearances<\/a>. Durability counts, too. Crow-Armstrong has played in every single Cubs game. He\u2019s fielded his demanding position for nearly 1,100 innings, or more than 1,000 more than Ohtani has worn a glove.<\/p>\n

It just feels like one of those special years.\u00a0Jon Greenberg\u00a0likens it to another Chicago sports season, the one in which Derrick Rose won NBA MVP<\/a>. There\u2019s also just a certain magic to what PCA is doing, leading a team that\u2019s had\u00a0more or less an entire big-league pitching staff on the injured list<\/a>\u00a0for much of the season.<\/p>\n

When Crow-Armstrong was off to a strong start\u00a0last\u00a0year,\u00a0I talked with our Eno Sarris<\/a>\u00a0about the potential for him to develop into a Hall of Fame player. It felt fanciful, but I\u2019d made a silly bet on an expensive dinner with a friend that he\u2019d get into Cooperstown someday. Eno was receptive but careful. But\u00a0now\u00a0PCA looks like a solid bet to get to 40 WAR by his age-30 season,\u00a0and that would give him a shot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I want your input. Who\u2019s going to buy those steaks in, say, 2045?<\/p>\n

If I\u2019m right, I\u00a0will\u00a0be getting an appetizer.<\/p>\n

News to Know<\/p>\n

\n Bruce Bennett \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

The NHL\u2019s Texas expansion timeline<\/p>\n

The NHL could award its 33rd franchise to either Houston or Austin by the end of this year, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told\u00a0The Athletic, with that team possibly playing by 2029-30 even if there\u2019s not a 34th team to balance out the numbers. Less-advanced discussions are continuing with Phoenix and Atlanta, said Daly, who added that while Houston is a ginormous market, Austin has its advantages, too.\u00a0Read his full comments here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Butker\u2019s big boot<\/p>\n

Should preseason field goals count toward NFL records? Nah, but if they did, this 69-yarder yesterday from Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker \u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

\u2026 would rank second to a 70-yarder in last year\u2019s preseason from the Jags\u2019 Cam Little, who holds the games-that-count record at 68. Still \u2026 foot go boom. More on Butker\u2019s kick here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stanton\u2019s woes continue<\/p>\n

Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton could miss the rest of the season after\u00a0his third separate calf strain this season<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 two coming during rehab. You have to feel for him; it\u2019s like he angered Zeus or something. In other concerning news for New York: Ryan Weathers left last night\u2019s 4-3 loss to the Blue Jays in the middle of an at-bat due to\u00a0forearm discomfort<\/a>. Yikes.<\/p>\n

More News
\nDeshaun Watson\u00a0was booed in his first appearance in front of\u00a0Browns\u00a0home fans since they cheered his being carted off with a torn Achilles in October 2024. Afterward\u00a0he said the boos were \u201cdisrespectful.\u201d<\/a>
\nSerena Williams\u00a0and\u00a0Carlos Alcaraz\u00a0are\u00a0teaming up for mixed doubles<\/a>\u00a0at the\u00a0U.S. Open, where\u00a0Novak Djokovic\u00a0and women\u2019s No. 1\u00a0Aryna Sabalenka are a team, too. Doubles hasn\u2019t been Alcaraz\u2019s thing, but it\u2019s still fun.
\nWe were somewhat close to witnessing a double cycle, with\u00a0Reds outfielder JJ Bleday\u00a0accomplishing the feat<\/a>\u00a0as teammate\u00a0Elly De La Cruz\u00a0fell a triple short.
\nKade Anderson\u00a0was solid<\/a>\u00a0in his highly anticipated debut for the\u00a0Mariners, giving up three runs in 5 2\/3 innings before Seattle walked off the\u00a0Cubs.
\nThe\u00a0Bills\u00a0announced that\u00a0DT Ed Oliver\u00a0is mourning\u00a0the death of his 2-year-old son<\/a> in what a medical examiner\u2019s report describes as an accidental drowning. Awful.
\nAlabama\u00a0named its starting quarterback, opting for high-upside sophomore\u00a0Keelon Russell.\u00a0More on him here<\/a>.
\nA 55-year-old\u00a0Jeff Gordon\u00a0won his first individual race in 10 years<\/a>. \u201cThe dog has still got some bite in him,\u201d said\u00a0Kurt Busch.
\nBoxer\u00a0Zolani Tete, a two-time champion who holds the record for fastest knockout in a world title fight, was\u00a0shot dead by masked gunmen<\/a> outside his South Africa home.
\nMore weirdness in the\u00a0Ketel Marte\u00a0situation as the\u00a0Diamondbacks\u00a0slugger was seen gambling at a local casino Friday while his teammates played across town.\u00a0Manager Torey Lovullo: \u201cIt\u2019s not a choice I would make.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0Find more news here 24\/7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Golazo: Goal of the season contender<\/p>\n

Even with a whole season yet to be played, this backheel volley from Bristol City newcomer Dom Ballard is going to be hard to beat for next year\u2019s FIFA Pusk\u00e1s Award, given to the (male) player with the most beautiful goal:<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Like \u2026 what on earth? That\u2019s stupid. Main things going against it Pusk\u00e1s-wise: It\u2019s the English second division, and one wishes for a better replay angle.<\/p>\n

Watch Guide<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa\u00a0EPL: Newcastle United vs. Liverpool
11:30 a.m. ET on USA
The Premier League\u2019s opening weekend continues. Our writers project Liverpool will sit right on the edge of the Champions League and Newcastle will be midtable.\u00a0More here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa WNBA: Fever at Sky
7 p.m. ET on NBC
The second game of a back-to-back for Indiana, which lost to the Liberty<\/a> last night.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NFL: Seahawks at Titans
8 p.m. ET on Fox
Football on a Sunday? What will they think of next? (This is today\u2019s one preseason game.)<\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like this here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

\n Luke Hales \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Most-shared stories on\u00a0The Athletic\u00a0last week:<\/p>\n

Lakers sold to Bob Iger, Joshua Kushner<\/a>, one year after Mark Walter bought team
\nAn Arkansas football player practiced with a snake in his helmet.\u00a0He found out later<\/a>.
\nA playboy NFL agent was in line to run the Seahawks.\u00a0Then came the crossbow killing<\/a>.
\n\u201cIt was a bit surreal\u201d:\u00a0When World Cup star Olise joined a New York pick-up game<\/a> \u2026 in socks
\nExclusive:\u00a0Spending a day with Bears coach Ben Johnson<\/a>\u00a0at training camp<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfa7 The latest \u201cStarkville\u201d episode featured a great conversation between our Jayson Stark and beloved Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow, who\u2019s retiring after 36 seasons in San Francisco\u2019s booth.\u00a0Find it wherever you get your podcasts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We ranked\u00a0the best college football programs without a national title<\/a>\u00a0in the past 50 years.<\/p>\n

After taste-testing more than a dozen kinds of frozen waffles, my fellow kitchen experts at Wirecutter and I found\u00a0four toaster-ready winners<\/a>\u00a0worthy of soaking in syrup, slathering in butter and sprinkling with cinnamon sugar. Spoiler: None of them are Eggo. \u2014 Ciara Murray Jordan<\/p>\n

The perplexing times continue for eligibility in college sports. Think you\u2019ve got it all figured out?\u00a0Try our quiz<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I love a Honey Deuce, but I might love a Melon Ace more. The signature cocktail at the Canadian Open, the Melon Ace has an\u00a0official recipe<\/a>, but just blend watermelon, lime juice and sugar, then add vodka. Garnish with three green grapes on a skewer and a sprig of mint. Enjoy with live tennis. \u2014 Alex Iniguez<\/p>\n

A story that almost feels too good to be true: A dad caught his son\u2019s first professional home run\u00a0after calling his shot<\/a>.<\/p>\n

My friend Chelsea Brasted wrote\u00a0a book<\/a>\u00a0about the food history of New Orleans as told through the lens of its chefs, bartenders and creatives. You should buy it to both read and make your coffee table look cool afterward. \u2014 Chris Branch<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday:\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s\u00a0quiz to choose your favorite Premier League team<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com<\/a>, and check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":823087,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":["post-823086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=823086"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/823086\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/823087"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=823086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=823086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=823086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}